This week, we’re joined by the TV host and author Touré to discuss his book The Ivy League Counterfeiter, a gripping and thought-provoking story about elite crime and punishment. Specifically, what kind of elite crime merits punishment? In Touré’s book we found an incredible opportunity to think about the legalized forms of financial corruption and predation that take place every day in ivory-tower enclaves. Cliff, the Ivy League Counterfeiter, simply moves from the “officially sanctioned” public theft that Ivy League students perpetuate on Wall Street to another form of scamming that has instead been criminalized. While the scams of big banks, stock exchanges, and consulting firms go unpunished (if anything, they’re incentivized), informal, unsanctioned versions of these scams — like counterfeiting — land you in big trouble. Our conversation with Touré about his incredible book reveals the true criminal behavior of our most “official” and “professional” financial institutions, and calls into question why they, too, haven’t been met with prosecution — yet.
We hope you enjoy this episode of KK&F. You can listen to this conversation through Pandora, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more!
Episode 105 Audio: Touré